The first phase of the extension of the metropolitan area subway connects Ruoholahti, Helsinki and Matinkylä, Espoo. Upon completion, in late 2017, the West Metro will service over 100,000 passengers every day.

The Keilaniemi station is the first one on Espoo-side of the extension. It is situated on the narrow strip between sea and land, housing and office blocks, parks and a built shoreline. This borderline condition is a distinct theme for the architectural concept of the station.

Both station entrances interpret the hidden, underground rock geometry, and distill the shapes into the form of the building. Initially free standing objects, the entrances will eventually be transformed into parts of the façade of the neighboring project. The faceted form and dynamic windows leave a recognizable impression. The entrance buildings are partially clad in metal from the east. Sheet metal, a high stone pedestal and glass surfaces share the same surface in the faceted geometry. From the west, the buildings have a simple metal grille façade.

The platform level in Keilaniemi takes some visual and atmospheric cues from the above ground hub of office blocks. The overall look is sleek and reflective. The end walls separating the platform from the escalators are made of glass. The long side walls of the platform are bound by a partial lowered ceiling made with reflective white painted solid aluminum plates which also improve the acoustic qualities of the space. The LED tube based art work titled LIght Weave by the artist duo Grönlund & Nisunen has been embedded as an integral part of the overall design.

The first phase of the western extension of the Helsinki metropolitan area subway line, the West Metro – in use since November 18, 2017 – connects Ruoholahti, Helsinki to Matinkylä, Espoo. The West Metro will service over 170,000 passengers per day. The objective that has been set for the architecture of the eight new stations along the first, and the five new stations along the second phase of the extension is to create distinctive, location-specific identities for them on both urban and interior scale. At the same time the metro will act as a link between the various urban centers of the City of Espoo and in a way create its new backbone.

ALA Architects and Esa Piironen Architects have designed two of the new stations along the first extension phase: the Aalto University Station and the Keilaniemi Station. ALA is additionally working on three stations in Kivenlahti, Espoonlahti and Soukka along the second extension phase to be opened for traffic in the early 2020s.

Otaniemi, today home to Aalto University, has since the 1950s had a strong individual character linked to science, technology and the general belief in the future. The growing campus is defined by the Alvar Aalto designed red-brick buildings.

The Aalto University metro station resides in the heart of the growing university campus in Otaniemi. Its main entrance opens straight towards the former Helsinki University of Technology main building.

Among other design decisions, the Aalto University station distinguishes itself from the other stations along the metro route through its rich material palette. The palette has been picked as to avoid gloss, and to emphasize natural materiality. The station’s lowered ceiling is made of Cor-ten steel panels. It visually connects all the public areas of the station, and relates to the surrounding red brick environments with its color. The faceted ceiling flows through the main entrance, to the platform level and up to the secondary entrance on Tietotie street.

Aged dark copper sheet cladding, grey granite and Cor-ten sheets form the basis of the material palette for the above ground parts of the entrance pavilions. Visible structures are reduced in the entrance space with an engineered, athletic, light form reminiscent of origami. Natural light is brought down to the platform level via an escalator shaft that terminates with a view towards the lime alley of the Otaniemi Mansion.

ALA Architects specializes in demanding cultural buildings, terminal design and unique renovation projects. The Helsinki–based firm was founded in 2005 by four partners: Juho Grönholm, Antti Nousjoki, Janne Teräsvirta and Samuli Woolston. Their collaboration started in 2004 through success in architectural competitions. The 1st prize in the open international competition for the new theater and concert hall, Kilden Performing Arts Centre, in Kristiansand, Norway in 2005 granted them their first commission. ALA’s most recent completed projects are the new City Theatre in Lappeenranta, Finland, as well as the Aalto University and Keilaniemi metro stations and the renovation of the Dipoli Student Centre and its repurposing as the main building of Aalto University, all in Espoo, Finland. ALA is currently working on such projects as the expansion of the Helsinki Airport, the Helsinki Central Library, three more subway stations along the second phase of the western extension of the Helsinki Metro, a new Courtyard by Marriott hotel in Tampere, Finland, and the renovation of the Finnish Embassy in New Delhi.

Esa Piironen Architects is a Helsinki-based architectural office founded in 1990. The firm is characterized by their constant commitment to humanistic principles and environmentally conscious design. They have completed a wide variety of projects from street furniture to urban planning. Many of their realized projects have been based on winning competition entries. Esa Piironen has received altogether 12 1st prizes. The firm has completed numerous educational and religious buildings but is today probably best known for their transportation related projects. In addition to the two metro stations mentioned above, these include a pedestrian underpass and platform roofing at the Seinäjoki station (1993), the Kaisaniemi (now University of Helsinki) Metro Station (1995), the Vuosaari metro station in Helsinki (1998), a pedestrian underpass and station shelters at the Pori Railway Station (1998), the roofing over the platform area of Eliel Saarinen’s Helsinki Central Railway Station (2001), Leppävaara transport hub in Espoo (2002), and the Koivukylä station in Vantaa (2004).

Mão Esquerda Vintage is the new store from a well-known Portuguese vintage brand which sources high-quality clothes from all over the world.

This new project occupies the intimate 19-square-metre ground floor of an historic old building located in the centre of Porto. The space has been refurbished in a way that combines both the raw, traditional vibe of Porto city and a contemporary minimal aesthetic.

The main challenge with this project was learning how to work with the many irregularities of this small slender space, while maintaining a simple and clean approach, thus creating a backdrop that could showcase a large and heterogeneous vintage clothes collection.

The resulting design has a visually strong aesthetic, focusing on two main curved elements. The first is a gridded floor-to-ceiling wall made of oak that serves as a partition and also allows for a storage area behind. The second is a two-level iron hanging rail that allows the shop to change its configuration based on the items on display.

These are complemented by the existing marmorite flooring and a refurbished counter that belonged to an old chemist shop, which, along with the light and colour, all help to create a subtle theatrical atmosphere.

Extreme organizational flexibility, attention to environmental quality and an accurate interpretation of the setting: these were the requirements for the headquarters of IDF Habitat, the French company in charge of the development of social housing operations. In March 2017 IDF Habitat proudly announced its new address, 15 km from the heart of Paris. Designed by Piuarch, Stefano Sbarbati and Incet Ingénierie, the winners of a competition held in 2013, the Champigny-sur-Marne headquarters were inspired by the desire to create an efficient, functional complex, and above all one that stands as an indispensable element in the area’s transformation process. The building is in fact part of the so-called “ZAC des Bords de Marne,” an ambitious redevelopment program aimed at defining a new social, cultural and productive sector connected with the city, interpreting expectations and generating a system with a strong identity.

Characterized by an L-shaped plan and a silhouette that varies in height, the volumes develop into an articulated form, establishing crisp lines and allowing the square in front to be designed and defined as a collective space. Each side also reacts to the existing surrounds through a relationship of solid and empty spaces: at the entrance, and thus facing the square, the façade is a permeable screen completely covered by glass hidden behind a system of loggias of varying heights, interrupted by a series of breaks in the pattern that make the composition more dynamic. This front is proposed here as a section through which one glimpses the working environments, including the lobby, small meeting rooms, private offices and the large stairway, or, conversely, as a way to project the life of the building toward the outside. The side of the building opposite the entrance, facing the railroad and along the road, is more compact with a tight rhythm of vertical openings: these are the south, east and west façades, where it is necessary to filter the solar gain and to create an acoustic barrier against the noise of trains passing by. The shell is made of concrete cast onsite and then smoothed to create a uniform effect. It integrates the construction system, which is connected to prefabricated hollow core slabs with a span of 13 meters, without any need for intermediate supports. The result is a free plan, which can be organized according to needs: a solution made possible not only by the absence of pillars and supporting walls, but also by the systems installations, which run vertically at the crossing point between the two wings before being inserted into the floating floor at each level. The modularity of the facades, marked by windows 67.5 cm wide spaced at 135 cm intervals, also contributes to the same objective and facilitates any changes in the layout of the internal spaces.

The only “rule” for the flexible layout, which can be changed over time by IDF Habitat, is the continuous juxtaposition of work areas and collective areas. The four floors of offices above the basement – devoted entirely to parking because the structure stands on land at risk of flooding – mix different types of spaces and include large socialization areas both indoors and outdoors, thus ensuring a high quality environment for employees. This quality is enhanced by the roof terrace, which adds to the defining of a pleasant place with tables, seating, deckchairs and sun shading elements.

The expressive forms of the building therefore originate from the search for sustainability at all levels and from the ongoing dialogue with the surrounds and with the broader redevelopment program for the Champigny-sur-Marne area, delivering architecture with a strong identity, which accurately interprets the existing elements and structures within the setting.

Cabo de vila is a house for a young couple that wanted a house that doesn’t look like a regular house. When we first meet the place for the house, the approach to the location give us the central mote for the project. We wanted a shape that can fill the void left by the valley and at the same time we wanted this new shape to embrace and reflects the surrounding green areas giving its users a special perspective on the landscape.

The proposed volume materializes its shape through two concrete slabs with its concave sides, allowing a light glass and wood wall to unroll between them, which in a positive and negative game let the interior of the house communicate with the exterior.

Inside, the house reflects the way of living of his owners. The central courtyard welcomes anyone who enters the house and organizes all the common spaces around it like a no end space. Here, there are no barriers between the different spaces, only an organic geometry that establishes hierarchies between them and that allows mutual visual contact. The private spaces of the house are hidden behind a curtain wall that surrounds the courtyard as well as the garage and the service areas. Like in the common areas the main bedroom is a fluid space without doors, where the hierarchy of the relations between the closet the bathroom and the sleeping area shapes the space.

With raw materials inside and outside, the house establish a perfect connection with the surroundings ready to grow hold with the nature.

The historic center of Milan stands out for its private courtyards with unsuspected urban landscapes.

Inside the building complex formerly called “Quartiere Piave”, near Porta Venezia, the young Milanese studio LPzR has designed two residential projects set among historical buildings, typical Milanese tenements and refurbished factories.

The architects have addressed both a new construction project (where they decided to demolish an abandoned garage), both a refurbishment project (inside a barrel-vaulted garage from the fifties).

The refurbishment project K19A is marked by a series of barrel vaults with different heights. The volume is completely hidden by the surrounding buildings: the succession of curved elements coated with titanium zinc can only be seen from above.

The new building K19B is a 7 storey volume with a strong architectural identity.

The facades are distinguished by the abstract composition of geometric elements, according to modular patterns.

The project materials are strictly Italian, such as the precious “pietra piasentina” from Friuli, a wonderful warm-looking gray stone, and the oiled larch.

The common areas are furnished with some antiques from the client’s private collection, arranged to contrast the minimalist interiors.

K19 Milano project is conceived as “Near Zero Energy Building” thanks to the technologies adopted to reduce non-renewable energy consumption. The use of geothermal energy along with a complete study of all the building details to eliminate energy losses have resulted in an extremely efficient implementation, in which architecture and technology join perfectly.

Our ambition was to rethink the concept of a boutique hotel and tropical architecture for the 21st century. Embracing the lush climate, but drawing attention inward, the bulbous design comprises a stack of interlocking rings producing a continual, rhythmic cycle of entertainment and relaxation through terraces, roof gardens, and hotel amenities. The experience moves from communal, recreational spaces in the central enclosure to a collection of bespoke guest rooms along the upper reaches of the building.

Sageun-dong in Seoul is a topographically isolated village. The southeast side of the village is surrounded by Cheonggyecheon stream and Hanyang University, while the north side is surrounded by the adjacent hill. The Saguendong-gil road that leads to the back gate of Hanyang University serves as the access way to the village, and yet pedestrian access to the village is difficult in many ways since the uphill path is very steep. Unlike any other neighborhoods in Seoul, the unique atmosphere of Sangeun-dong resulted from such isolated topography.​

The atmosphere of Sajeong-dong is past-oriented. The unique ambience of this village is all the more noticeable when the village is compared to the geopolitical aspects of Seoul and metropolitan areas where the commercial areas for work are completely separated from the bedroom communities for residence. Sageun-dong is reminiscent of residential areas in the 80’s where neighborhood convenience facilities were alive and active. As elaborated in the legal definition of ‘neighborhood living facilities’ that refers to the living convenience and wellbeing of residents, a residential area is suppose to have daily necessities available for the residents at close range. However, residents who have lost their neighborhood living facilities are now enjoying a strange consumption pattern of going to discount super stores and managing the distribution and storage of their daily necessities on their own. Since there is nothing much to do in the neighborhood, the villages in Seoul are quiet day and night (especially ever since children started to attend several private academies after school hours). However, in the case of Sageun-dong, which has gone through geopolitical isolation and the circumstances of the days have made its residents take care of all living-related consumptions in the neighborhood, the village, just like the villages in the eighties, is busy during the day and becomes quiet only when everyone goes inside to go to bed. Another reason for the unique bustling ambience of this village can be found in its population distribution, which is mixed with the students of Hanyang University living apart from their families and the residents who have lived in the same neighborhood for several decades. In other words, this village is inhabited by a mixture of adults and youths, or settlers and nomads.​

The reason development activities in his kind of old neighborhood clashes with preservation is because they presuppose merging of lots. Small plots of land do not guarantee sufficient development profit and are rarely developed independently because reusing existing buildings is financially advantageous in most cases. As always, people find solutions for problems: they combine the lots to pursue maximum profit within legal limits. The merging of lots changes the urban structure; takes away the alleys; makes the neighbors move; and destroys families and the society. However, when confronted with this very natural capitalist activity, a romantic outcry for the preservation of urban structure is easily defeated. And it is unclear whether this defeat is bad.

The client’s requirements were simple; to ensure maximum floor area ratio within the 139㎡ lot, and make the building functional and convenient. The building is composed of one owner unit for the client’s household, and eight rental units for Hanyang University students. To this basic concept, we proposed and added a few items such as an elevator facility as winning elements in the competition with surrounding rental housings. We were able to find our own way of solutions for the dilemma of Sageun-dong between development and preservation by securing the highest number of units at 200% FAR, providing neighborhood living facilities, securing attics, installing balconies, and squeezing in an elevator facility. If architectural practices, that were only possible in larger scale projects from merging of lots, can be realized in smaller scale projects, clients will not insist on taking the annoying course of expanding their projects. They can seek profit and preserve the urban structure. Thus, the work can be sufficiently capitalistic and romantic at the same time. We can certainly make developments while preserving our neighborhoods.​

The building also responds to the demands of contemporary residential environment. The strongest trend dominating the current residential culture is spatial integration that underwent rapidly mainly in housings for single household. This trend is prominent also in Sageun-dong, which serves as a dormitory for Hanyang University. The housing type called ‘one-room,’ where the living room, the bedroom and the kitchen are all placed in one space, is now getting to the point of combining the kitchen with the bathroom relying solely on their common feature of water being used there. (The rationale seems to be that eating and excreting in the same space is as efficient as eating and sleeping in the same space.) Here, we found the reason why the living environment today is so vulgar. For people to live in, a space needs to be properly partitioned. Apartments turn into chicken factory farms as balcony spaces are recklessly taken over by extended living area. This type of one-room office spaces gave birth to the circumstances of people being forced to live in a ‘gosiwon’ that doesn’t even has a window if they are poor. Different kind of spaces, however small, need to be present in a house; spaces such as a balcony, multipurpose room, bathtub, a living room loosely separated from the kitchen, built-in cabinets or closet that fit the space, etc.

Even though we took into consideration various aspects for the building, it was inevitable that the absolute size of the building would be small. In order to secure the maximum number of units, small units about the same size had to be replicated. Windows were fabricated to add personality to each unit. The windows in two units with identical floor plan but on different floors were positioned differently. The smaller the room, the greater the impact of change. With this arrangement, we hope the residents will at least be able to declare their respective taste. A wistful situation might occur where a person is upset because the room that suits his/her taste has been leased already. We feel sad that even such a wistful situation is missing in the residential environment of young people nowadays.

We traced the maximum volume along the slant line for solar access and the shape of the land, and ultimately found a diamond-shape slanted mass. Lifting up the mass (like a skirt) and placing in an opening that leads to the veranda on the 4th floor, we realized that it was appropriate for the owner’s unit to be on the 4th floor rather than on the top 5th floor. Our client was concerned about possible interferences from the tenant households on the 5th floor, but we persuaded her to think about the usefulness of the veranda on the 4th floor and the marketability of the two units on the 5th floor respectively equipped with an attic. When the slant line for north-side solar access is applied to a building, the staircase is usually placed at the southern corner, where the slope is least likely to interfere the staircase. This means that the staircase would be placed in the most sunny side of the building. We rejected this planning approach used without a doubt in the home business market, and instead moved the staircase northward as far as possible allowing for the height of the last floor. As a result, we were able to secure units with southern exposure evenly throughout all floors in the building. The configuration of the staircase itself was also the outcome of studying the limits set by the building code. The somewhat complex staircase, which combines straight stairs with effective width of 1.2m and winding stairs with effective width of 0.9m, minimized the area of common use space and increased the area of exclusive use for each unit. The small neighborhood living facility we were able to secure on the 1st floor owes its existence entirely to our devoted study of the location and configuration of the staircase.​

The two slopes along the slant lines for solar access meet at one corner at respective angles. In order to minimize the contamination of the slopes, we decided to use zinc standing seam finishing for the slopes and worked with the joints based on the corner where the two slopes meet. In this way, we were able to finish the corner with the standing seam alone without using additional flashing. As shown in the elevation, the finishing resultingly accentuated the slanted mass. The design process of this building is not an “invention” but is a kind of “discovery” in that its most significant design element was automatically calculated based on the Building Act prescribing slant line for solar access. Our task was to reveal the virtuality that is spread around the site through the language of architecture, and what was needed here was archaeological diligence rather than inspiration.

The finishing material used for the slopes was a product called Azengar from VMZinc. It is a matte light grey product. It is not our way to finish a strong formative change with a strong material change. The finishing for the slopes was chosen among natural materials that would clash the least with the white stucco finish on the vertical face of the building. Due to cost problems, we were unsure until the last moment whether we could proceed with our plan. Fortunately, thanks to the determination of our client who trusted the initial design more than the architect himself, we were able to realize the design. As the building looked like a 3-year-old building when it was just completed, we hope that it will look like a 3-year-old building even after 30 years.

This project asks the question whether local values ​​and individual urge for development are compatible. Our answer to this question was that realizing the maximum asset value in a small plot of land is actually helpful for the preservation of local values. As a matter of fact, no one will destroy their own neighborhood if profit can be attained. At the same time, this project was our answer to promoting an alternative to the existing housing styles for young people today by pursuing diversity of space. Diversity, however, was realized indirectly. It was realized through the shape and position of the windows, the variation of minimized balconies, and the delicate arrangement of built-in cabinets according to each unit space. This was also the outcome of considering first the interests of the client. Spatial diversity is not something worth pursuing at the expense of decisively compromising profits. We believe that the preservation of local community and the creation of healthy living environment ultimately lead to the overall benefit of our community, but the architectural practice today seems to be far behind from what we believe.

The project responds to the challenge of combining three different programs along Rue Stendhal in Paris : social housing, nursery and emergency centre. The organization of the building allows all three programs to coexist peacefully and take advantage of the unique features of the site such as: privacy, natural lighting in the nursery, independence, and large exterior spaces for the dwellings. The emergency shelter is arranged to be compact and provides multiple views and orientations. Sitting on a hill, the building stands in dialogue with the large horizon of the East Paris landscape. Its volumes are designed to maximize energy efficiency and user comfort. The courtyard, balconies and dwellings are oriented to achieve the best sun angles all year round. Each volume preserves distant views to neighbouring condominiums, and aims to blend cohesively into the skyline of the neighbourhood and eastern Paris. The inward facing elevation opens up to the linear garden at the rear of the building which brings light and fresh air into the dwellings and the nursery.

Thailand Creative and Design Center (TCDC) is a government agency with a mission to inspire creative thinking in the society and to propel the country’s creative economy. It provides a broad range of resources and services. The main components are a design library, a material library, and a co-working space. Other components include a makerspace, exhibition spaces, and workshops.

TCDC is now moved to its new place in the side and back wing of the historical Grand Postal Building. The design of the space is intended for the new intervention to have a dialogue with the old building and at the same time to answer to TCDC’s mission to be the country’s creative incubator.

A creative space is not ‘creative’ because of how it looks but it is a place that inspires. It is about creating a space where people can connect, discuss, and work together. It is a place where people can see and be seen on the activities they do to inspire one another. It is a place that would allow for the new and the unknown events to happen, a reprogrammable space. It is a place that surrounds us with inspiring resources and knowledge, with books and digital media, and rotating exhibition spreading throughout.

The resource center is not planned as traditional silence libraries. Instead, a large portion of space is designed to encourage conversations in a setting more like a cafe or a co-working space. These work spaces are spread throughout the building mixing with other programs where work and discussion can happen everywhere. The openness of the space brings people together and allows for them to start to interact with a spontaneous conversation. The main circulation cut through the section of the building bringing people to flow pass different facilities to be inspired by what others are doing. Most of the spaces are flexible with movable furniture and adjustable systems to allow for flexible situation and various creative activities to happen. Exhibition nodes are integrated into all spaces – with shelving systems, wall systems, spaces along corridors, corner spaces, central spaces. Fresh ideas are always presented within reach and always surround us for inspiration.

Within the historical building, the new is inserted as an object, placing within and offsetting from the existing envelope, clearly revealing architectural features from the 30’s. The present-day material in its light, translucent, blurring, and glowing quality is having a dialogue with the massive character of the historical shell. The new and the old are interestingly contrasting, enhancing and complementing one another.

This translucent architectural system wrapping around and inserting throughout the facility is holding the essence of what TCDC provides – inspiration and knowledge. It is designed to contain everything from books, magazines, material samples, digital media, mini exhibition, brainstorm boards, announcement, etc. The inspiration runs through and encompasses all the creative spaces.